Scan barcode
A review by inoirita
Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal
3.0
Balli Kaur Jaswal delves into the complicated lives of domestic workers in 'Now You See Us' and upholds the incredibly challenging pathway that lies before them for mere survival with a hint of respect. Set in Singapore, which is a land hugely indebted to the immigrant women workers that they bring into the country solely for the benefit of their own nation's luxurious prosperity. They live a life dedicated to service to an extent where their lives have no individual value beside the helping hand they lead to the family that they must serve before their own.
It was young Donita's the first time in Singapore, but her wretched fate led her to be employed in the house of Mrs. Fann denied her basic human rights and strived to make Donita a little hell on earth. Angel quite enjoyed working as a caregiver to the elderly Mr. Vijay but it was not the safest workplace environment in the presence of a young man in the house whose aim was to harass and violate her sense of privacy on and off. The luckiest of the three was probably Corazon, who was treated like a friend by her Ma'am Elizabeth- but she lived in the memories of her nephew whose thoughts constantly plagued her.
The three women's lives and the lives of every domestic worker in Singapore undergo a massive transformation in the terms of how they'd be treated after Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid was arrested for the murder of her employer. Angel, Corazon and Donita believed firmly in the innocence of Flordeliza and ventured to clear her name from all charges by investigating the case themselves. Entangling themselves into a murder mystery, the three women positioned to fight their inner conflicts by searching for the justice of another woman who lived in the same circumstances as them.
The novel moves in rather of a slow pace for a murder mystery and was not much successful in exploring the emotional turmoil in its characters like Jaswal's previous books. It is a rather difficult task to assign a genre to this novel, as it falls mostly into the undercooked category and hence, did not leave an impression good enough to recommend this one. However, if you're a fan of Jaswal or looking towards reading about the lives of immigrant workers, you can give this one a try.
It was young Donita's the first time in Singapore, but her wretched fate led her to be employed in the house of Mrs. Fann denied her basic human rights and strived to make Donita a little hell on earth. Angel quite enjoyed working as a caregiver to the elderly Mr. Vijay but it was not the safest workplace environment in the presence of a young man in the house whose aim was to harass and violate her sense of privacy on and off. The luckiest of the three was probably Corazon, who was treated like a friend by her Ma'am Elizabeth- but she lived in the memories of her nephew whose thoughts constantly plagued her.
The three women's lives and the lives of every domestic worker in Singapore undergo a massive transformation in the terms of how they'd be treated after Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid was arrested for the murder of her employer. Angel, Corazon and Donita believed firmly in the innocence of Flordeliza and ventured to clear her name from all charges by investigating the case themselves. Entangling themselves into a murder mystery, the three women positioned to fight their inner conflicts by searching for the justice of another woman who lived in the same circumstances as them.
The novel moves in rather of a slow pace for a murder mystery and was not much successful in exploring the emotional turmoil in its characters like Jaswal's previous books. It is a rather difficult task to assign a genre to this novel, as it falls mostly into the undercooked category and hence, did not leave an impression good enough to recommend this one. However, if you're a fan of Jaswal or looking towards reading about the lives of immigrant workers, you can give this one a try.